Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) will increase the rail transport of containers from its ports in the east. With the Strait of Hormuz still largely unavailable, the Saudi railway network can become a key alternative route to keep (some) goods moving.
Freight trains will leave from King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, in the south, and travel north to the Jubail Commercial Port and King Fahad Industrial Port in Al Jubail, according to various Saudi media outlets. After gathering the containers, the convoys will continue their journey toward Jordan and beyond, reports said.
Despite being helpful, the initiative of launching new rail freight services throughout Saudi Arabia will unlikely be enough to move significant volumes. First and foremost, freight trains cannot move all those volumes. Even in Saudi Arabia, where it is possible to stack two containers per wagon, convoys can move up to 400 units. The average capacity of container vessels is ten times that, with the largest ones able to handle 24,000 TEUs.